Bacon and mascarpone pasta

I used to be into the Atkins diet a while ago (which worked actually, but I cheated and stayed in the induction /first phase the entire way through - the weight  has kinda stayed off but a recent visit back home and Easter has made the scales wobble more than just a bit!) and this recipe is inspired by an Atkins recipe but it uses real pasta instead of Atkins pasta - which I read is horrible. I never tried this while on Atkins because I generally hate food substitutes, I'd rather go without than substitute for less. However, I love bacon and cheese of most descriptions and combining these ingredients with pasta has got to be a winner... well it's hearty, comfort food for me :) I guess it would also work with some broccoli, peas or green beans in the sauce as well. This isn't my favourite dish ever but it's nice for a weekday when you just can't be bothered to do much.

Ingredients

• 120 g bacon (streaky or back), sliced
• 100 g dried pasta
• 1 small shallot, chopped 
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 60 ml white wine (good excuse to have a couple of glasses with the meal!)
• 100 g mascarpone cheese
• 60 ml whole/semi-skimmed milk
• large handful of chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Boil a pan of salted water and add the pasta
2. In a large pan over medium-low heat, cook the bacon until crisp, which will take about 12 mins - not too hot otherwise it will go dry and burn.
3. The pasta should be ready sometime during the cooking of the bacon and so drain and return to the same pot but leave it with the lid on, off the heat.
4. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain the fat and pour off most of the fat leaving about a tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan.
5. Cook the shallots in the pan that has the bacon fat for about 3 mins on a medium heat until translucent.
6. Add garlic and cook for a further minute
7. Stir in the wine and cook until reduced by half (about 3 minutes)
8. Add the mascarpone, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted,.
9. Mix in the milk and parsley; cook 1 minute to heat through and then add the pasta and the bacon and stir until the pasta is nicely coated.
10. Serve on it's own or with a small salad

Hyvää Ruokahalua!